Nickelodeon’s mission: Entertain and educate

Then and now, Nickelodeon has been about content that imparts sound moral values.

In a recent interview with Bulletin Entertainment, Viacom International Media Networks’ Philippines Country Manager Dinna Zaratan said it’s good to both entertain and educate viewers, especially young people with impressionable minds.

“There’s always a value to each of the program that we show on the channel,” she said.

Don’t get them wrong, it all remains fun as they want to “make the world a more playful places” through “imagining and creating things and being a kid.”

Zaratan pointed out that their content does not appeal to just one demographic.

CHRISTIAN KURZ and Dinna Zaratan

“The content that we show – there’s a lot of value to it, lessons to be learned especially on our preschool lineup which is curriculum base so parents trust Nickelodeon to provide entertainment and education to their kids.”

More choices

Nickelodeon is not just about animation.

“Although animation continues to drive our schedule we also look out for alternative content and what kids likes,” she said.

In particular, Live-action is one of the contents kids from the Philippines enjoy, naming some titles which had a “good run” like “Game Shakers,” “Henry Danger,” “The Thundermans,” and “100 Things to Do Before High School.”

‘SUNNY DAY’

For the upcoming year, they are “continuing that legacy with the new one” like “Knight Squad” and “Lip Sync Battle Shorties” which features kids lip syncing their favorite songs and celebrating their favorite artists.

According to Zaratan, little by little they are bringing back well-loved shows, starting with “Hey Arnold!: The Jungle Movie.”

Expect the unexpected

Filipino audiences should look forward to more authentic contents, beginning with their recently acquired preschool show “Becca’s Bunch,” and “Sunny Day.”

“Sunny Day” is about a 10-year-old master hairstylist and entrepreneur who use creative problem-solving to tackle any dilemma that arises in her seaside town of Friendly Falls. She explained that the show teaches kids to be “more confident and become their own person.”

Their upcoming original animated social-media influenced comedy show “Pinky Malinky,” about an infectiously positive hotdog living in a human world who navigate school and life with a unique perspective, will have a relevant lesson, Zaratan hinted.

Doors to improvement

The upcoming shows were chosen based on the survey they conducted.

“We do a lot of research,” she said. “At least in a year we have maybe six to 10 pieces of research across the globe. And Philippines is always included as one of the countries we’re looking into.”

The process involved talking to different kids and discovering what they want.

“We find out what they’re interested in and we try to use that research to develop the content and the storylines,” she related.
The American basic cable and satellite television network representative also shared they always put kids in everything.

In fact their guiding philosophy is “We always stay true to kids.”

“We do what kids do,” she said. “Kids are innately more playful because playing help kids learn and inspire them to imagine and create to connect to other.

The research studied kids around the world and the powerful influence they exert within their households, and further delves into how Filipino kids differ from the rest of the world.

‘PINKY MALINKY’

Some of the key insights revealed by Kid Power are, first, everyone pitches in to keep family households running – including kids. Then extended family ties matter – help comes from outside the home. Also most kids are involved in household purchases – and their leverage increases at age 10. And categories that kids influence the most: Entertainment, groceries, restaurants, and electronics.

This is important as brands should know about the true power of kids as there are new opportunities for brands to engage everyone in the household.